


Blood Matters Not

by Muffins17



Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: Emotional Roller Coaster, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-22
Updated: 2019-10-28
Packaged: 2020-01-23 23:33:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18559378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Muffins17/pseuds/Muffins17
Summary: In which Lee has a gift, family is something you choose, and love is sometimes found in the most unexpected of places.





	1. Prologue

“GO!”

And they were climbing, climbing, climbing up the ladder leading to the attic, the walkers inching closer, closer, closer. Following the others, Lee was almost at the top when his gun, _Carley’s gun_ , fell through the rungs of the ladder. As treasured a memento as it was, there was no time to go back and get it, so he raced to the top and closed the hatch.

_That was too close,_ he thought, trying to catch his breath. His heart thumped hard in his ribcage, threatening to burst out of his chest any moment.

“That could’a gone better…” Kenny sighed, beginning to pace back and forth.

“Is everyone okay?” Christa asked, though her question seemed more directed towards Lee as she looked to him.

“Lee’s still bitten.”

“Shut up.”

“Okay. Let’s get out of here and keep moving,” Omid suggested, walking towards the window.

Kenny nodded, “Kid’s right. We gotta keep movin’. Think there’s any chance we get Clem and catch up to those goddamn thieves?”

“I don’t know…” Lee uttered, feeling a little woozy, “Maybe.”

Omid came back from the window; there were a few problems. “Well, we’re not going out through this window. No latches, no roof access, and thirty feet straight down.”

Kenny looked around the room, “Anyone have any ideas?”

“I bet this guy would,” Omid walked to a corner of the room, eyes set on a particular object, “He’s got a resourceful air about him.”

Christa glared, “Knock it off.”

“Dixon Kent III, industrial-“

_“Omid.”_

_“Christa._ I’m just trying to lighten the fucking tone.”

 “We need _solutions,_ not stupid jokes!” Christa snapped, then realised she sounded a little harsh, “…I’m sorry.”

 Kenny looked around at everyone, sighing. “Sooo…no ideas then.”

 “There’s gotta be another way,” Lee muttered tiredly, wiping sweat from his forehead.

 “Check the floor for any other access, a vent, anything,” Christa suggested.

 “Or we wait for the house to clear out and stick to the high ground,” Kenny jumped in, then he looked to Lee with concern, “Whoa, Lee. You okay?”

 Lee tried to keep his balance, his head was spinning. “Yeah, yeah. I’m – I’m gonna…have to…just…”

 Then everything went black.

 

 

 

 

“Lee,” Clementine’s voice rang out, it sounded muffled.

“Lee,” There it was again. Was that her radio?

“Lee! Lee! Lee!” She sounded louder now; she was waiting for his response. He opened his eyes, spotting the radio on the ground next to him. “I-I’m okay, I’m where my parents—oh no!” He went to grab it, but the signal cut off before he could reply.

“Did you hear that?” Christa asked.

Lee nodded, “Yeah, I did.”

“What did that mean?”

“She’s at the hotel where her parents were staying; he hasn’t moved her.”

“Yet.” Kenny finished.

“Yeah…yet,” Christa agreed.

“We need to start thinkin’ about more than just Clementine when it comes to our… _urgency_ ,” Kenny emphasised the last word as his eyes wandered over to Lee’s direction.

Omid was confused, “What do you mean?”

“How do we get outta here?” Kenny urged.

“That’s the whole point; we don’t know.”

“Okay, now your life depends on it. How do you get outta here?”

“I don’t know. I don’t get it.”

“I do,” Christa said worriedly, eyes drifting to Lee’s bite.

”Stop,” Lee tried to calm the situation, “We can’t panic.”

Kenny’s eyes darted to Lee’s wrist, “How long do you think we have?”

“What?” Lee brought his hand up to look at the bite. His arm was numb. “…I-I don’t know…

“We should’a cut it off. At least then there would’a been a chance.”

“Well, you didn’t, and it’s too late now.”

Kenny’s face hardened. “I think we need to have…an ‘adult’ conversation about what happens if Lee takes another spill.”

Now, Lee was watching him -- carefully. _What’s he getting at?_

“Hey, look…” Omid tried, growing tense.

Kenny started pacing, “We could be lookin’ at a Larry situation here.”

_Whoa, whoa. What the fuck?_

Christa looked suspicious. “Who’s Larry?”

“It don’t matter,” Kenny snapped.

But to Lee it _did_ matter. It mattered a _lot._

“He looks fine to me…” Omid tried to sound positive; it didn’t help.

Lee gritted his teeth. “Okay, what do you wanna do?” he asked Kenny calmly, biting back the defensive comebacks that clawed at the back of his mind.

“Just talk about it,” Kenny answered simply.

Lee glared at him. “Does that ‘conversation’ end with me getting something dropped on my head?”

“Now, HEY—” Kenny tried to defend.

_"Guys,"_ Christa interrupted. This was clearly not helping anyone. “I don’t know what happened before Omid and I showed up, but we can cross this bridge when we get to it.”

Kenny took a deep breath, “Lee, I’m not advocating anything here…but how is this not a thing? We’re all so worked up about Clementine that we’re forgettin’ what the fuck happened to you.”

Lee was trying really hard not to blow up, but Kenny was _really_ pushing it. “My arm is not the issue! I’m not the problem! The five hundred walkers in the house and _no door_ in this room are the goddamn problem!”

“Yeah, maybe not at the moment,” Kenny snapped, “but who’s to say when it becomes an issue? And at that point, there may not be any time left to deal with it!”

Omid tensed, eyes darting between the two in worry, “This is getting out of hand…”

Kenny glared intensely, “You’re gonna listen to _me!_ We will get Clementine back, with or without you! Because I haven’t given up _everything_ to die because we were _stupid!”_

That was the last straw for Lee. “Then _kill_ me, you son of a bitch, okay?! Don’t even fucking hesitate!”

“I _will!"_

Lee turned to his right, grabbing the statue Omid commented on earlier. His glare was still on Kenny, whose eyes widened as the statue was hurled in his direction, hitting the wall behind him. It left a jagged indentation in the wood.

The group stared at the broken bust for a few seconds before Omid spoke up, “…You ruined that dude’s face.”

“Shut up, sweetie,” Christa scolded him, “Look.”

Kenny walked up to the wall, grabbing a piece of the rotten wood and pulling it out. “It’s corroded to hell.”

“What’s on the other side of this wall? A thirty-foot drop?” Christa questioned.

“No,” Omid answered, “This mansion butts up against the one next door.”

Lee walked over to the wall to investigate. He spotted a coat rack by the wall, grabbing it and slamming it into the wood.

“This wall ain’t shit,” He chuckled.

“Is it really possible?” Omid asked hopefully.

Kenny took the rack and slammed it repeatedly into the wall, the wood chipping away with every hit.

“Yeah, we can do this,” He declared with determination, “We’ll work in shifts. Omid, Christa and I. Lee, you rest. We have to work fast.”

Lee looked at the ground with guilt, “…I wasn’t gonna hurt you.”

“Sure, pal. I know,” Kenny reassured him before he resumed chipping at the wall.

Lee walked over to where Omid and Christa were resting, taking a seat on a crate.

“I’m glad you told us when you got bitten,” Christa told him, “it would’ve been easy not to.”

Omid nodded in agreement, “If I were you, I would’ve been scared shitless.”

“I am,” Lee stated.

“And when it happened?”

“I panicked. But now…” he trailed off sadly, “I just feel it inside me, like the day before you get the flu.”

Omid cringed sympathetically. “That’s horrible.”

“You wish you would’ve taken it off?” Christa asked.

Lee looked at his hands, his bitten one trembling. “Don’t think it matters much now. I’m losing a lot of feeling in it.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. It’s hot, like when you break a bone, but tingly like it’s asleep.”

Omid decided to change the subject, “So when we get this guy…what do you think?”

Lee thought about it for a moment. “We just get Clementine; that’s the focus. Despite how I might feel, I can’t let vengeance be a thing.”

“Sure, but it’s not that easy.”

“We’ll do whatever it takes.” He was resolved in that. He wouldn’t be anything less than the man he wanted Clementine to remember him as, when he was gone.

“And…you know…whatever happens to you…uh…” Omid trailed off, looking at the floor. Lee could tell he was hesitant to talk about his inevitable death.

Christa let out an exasperated sigh, “The entire time we were at the hospital I could sense you think you were as good as dead.”

Lee sighed. “I’m bitten, Christa.” He gestured to his hand for emphasis, “We all know that’s a wrap.”

She looked torn. “There’s gotta be something.”

Lee looked over at Kenny who was working at the wall. The thought flew out of his mouth before he could stop it. “I want Kenny to look after her.”

Christa frowned, “Stop it.”

Omid hesitated. “Are you sure, man?”

Lee looked past him, staring at nothing. “You didn’t see him with his family, what he’d do to protect them.”

“We’re not doing this right now,” the young woman scoffed, clenching her fists.

“Christa, listen to him,” Omid told her sternly.

“It’s what I want, okay?” Lee told them, leaving no more room for argument.

Kenny walked up to them. “All right, I’m outta gas.” He turned to Omid, “You look good and rested.”

“Sure, if you don’t count an infected leg,” Omid remarked with sarcasm.

“You want me to do it?” Christa suggested.

“Nah, hon,” He assured his girlfriend, “You can hop in after me.” He took the rack and began working at the hole that was already forming in the wall.

Kenny took Omid’s place on the couch beside Christa. “Shouldn’t be long now. It’s good we’re forced to take a breath.” He looked at Lee’s arm, frowning. “I still can’t believe you went and got chomped. Just…fuckin’ hell.”

“At least he told us,” Christa remarked.

Kenny scoffed, “Took some brass. Don’t think I would’a.” He suddenly leaned forward, head in his hands.

“How are you?” Christa asked with concern.

“I’m, uh…” He trailed off, voice shaking, “I don’t know how to answer that.”

“I’m sorry…” she said softly.

Lee tried to comfort him. “It’ll be all right, Ken.”

Kenny sighed in frustration. “Why are you actin’ like what’s happened ain’t happened? Anyway, I appreciate it, from both of ya. A lot of us have lost families.” He leaned over the side of the sofa, spotted a box with a bottle of whiskey inside, grabbed it and yanked out the cork, turning to Christa. “This guy tell you much about what we’ve been through?”

She nodded, “Bits and pieces.”

“The aforementioned Larry fella? See, Lee and I got trapped in a fuckin’ meat locker with him. He had a heart attack. So there’s this guy who, I should say, was built like a brick shithouse, and we’re terrified he’s gonna come back and eat all of us.”

“What did you do?”

Kenny didn’t beat around the bush. “We were resourceful.”

“Larry didn’t make it out?” she asked, looking like she already the answer.

“No, he did not. We did though.”

Lee sighed with a shrug, “It’s all water under the bridge. All we can do it move forward.”

Kenny nodded, raising the bottle, “Well, cheers.” He took a swig of the bottle and passed it to Lee, who took it with a small sip. Kenny took the bottle back and held it out to Christa. She was also hesitant, looking down at her lap, or rather, her stomach. Lee looked at her with worry.

Was it a good idea to let her have that stuff? That was a stupid question, of course it wasn’t. Not just because she was pregnant, but because he’d literally just drank from that bottle. Stupid. What if she got infected?

Before he could even voice these thoughts, she snatched the bottle from Kenny’s hand and downed a large portion in one go, then handed it back.

“I’m through!” Omid broke the silence. They stood up from the couch and walked towards the wall, which now had a hole big enough for them to fit through. “No walkers. Things are looking up.” They proceeded to the room on the other side, a step closer to their destination.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a pain to write. Some of the dialogue isn't exactly precise as it is in the game (which is weird, considering how precise I am with things in real life). Hope you enjoyed what I've done so far.


	2. One Is Found, But Another Was Lost

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I slowly felt my soul being crushed as I was writing this, but sometimes you just need some angst to balance out the fluff and light-hearted humour which will happen in future chapters. Enjoy!

Walking through the horde was probably the craziest and most frightening thing Lee Everett could've ever thought of doing... well, anyone in their right mind would think that anyway. He couldn't imagine how frightened  _she_ was though. 

Clementine was still very young, and yet she had seen so many things that children her age should not. There was a difference, however, between witnessing death and dancing with it. Walking through a cluster of wandering corpses that wanted nothing more than to maul people to death was far more terrifying than seeing people die had ever been. Not to mention, even bumping into a few of them would definitely leave you thinking, 'Oh my God, this is where I die,' despite the rotting blood and flesh of one of them being smeared all over your clothes to mask your scent. 

They had only walked a good five blocks from The Marsh House when the nine-year-old girl beside him stopped in her tracks and turned to her right, her face a mix of so many different emotions at once; fear, grief, shock, heartbreak. Lee turned his head in the direction she was facing, where a couple of walkers stood beside a lamppost in the street. He recognised them immediately from the family photo he picked up at Clementine's house;  _they were her parents._

She didn't deserve to see this. As much as she deserved to  _know_ what happened to them, she didn't need to see with her own eyes what had become of the two people who raised and loved her. No child, no  _one_ deserved to see their parents as flesh eating monsters. 

"Clem," he whispered to her tenderly as he nudged her forward, "Don't look, honey. We have to keep moving." 

A pained look and a small sob escaped her as she turned away, her small hands clutching his shirt tightly as they carried on through the streets and out of the city. 

It wasn't long until the herd began to thin out, their numbers diminishing to almost nothing but a few stragglers that popped up here and there. That was when Lee decided it was safe enough to walk normally and relax his hold on Clementine a bit. Though she didn't release her hold on him in the slightest, in fact, she buried her face even deeper into his shirt, her breathing becoming ragged with panic. He stroked her back in a comforting manner as he took in their surroundings, trying to figure out where exactly they were in the city. He sighed in relief when he saw the train tracks up ahead; the train wasn't too far away. Hopefully Omid and Christa were there waiting for them, alive and safe. 

As they continued walking, Clementine stopped again, her hands letting go of his shirt and gripping at the sleeves of her hoodie as she hugged herself. "L-Lee?" Her voice and lips were trembling as she looked at him with pained eyes. 

He turned to her and knelt down her level, his eyes filled with concern. "Yes?" 

"I...I..." Her trembling only worsened as she tried to breathe with the lump in her throat. "I saw my parents. Th-they...they..." 

"Come here, sweet pea," he whispered as he pulled her into a warm embrace. She was a sobbing mess in seconds, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck as she buried her face into his shoulder. 

"Th-they're-! They're dead..." she choked out, her voice cracking, "They really-! R-really are..." 

Lee nuzzled her gently as he hushed her, rocking her side to side. "I can't imagine, honey. I'm so sorry you had to see that." 

The child sniffled and released one of her arms from around his neck to wipe away the tears that flowed down her cheeks. "At least I've still got you." 

"I..." he trailed off when his eyes drifted down to the bite on his left wrist. He released his hold on the girl and brought his hand up close to inspect it. He flexed his fingers, he could feel them just fine. The numbness in his arm was gone, and he was no longer tired or dizzy. He felt...fine, like he wasn't even bitten in the first place. 

What was going to happen? The virus was already in his system, and he felt all the symptoms that it inflicted him with. Was it just taking longer to settle in his body? That was the only explanation he could come up with, because it wasn't the same with all the people they met who died and turned into walkers. Ben's teacher wasn't even bitten and he reanimated within the snap of a finger. Duck took a chomp to the abdomen and was showing symptoms in just under a few hours. It didn't make sense that he would take longer to turn. But when he'd been bitten it was morning, and now the twilight was already starting to fade in the sky. 

What if he was different somehow? The effects of some viruses varied from person to person. Maybe it would take longer to set in - weeks or months. Maybe he'd just die instead of turn. 

...Maybe he'd be fine. 

He shook his head in doubt. No, he thought, that was just wishful thinking. It couldn't be possible to be immune to a virus that didn't exist until three months ago. Then again, he was no virologist, so what did he know? It was clear no one knew how this one worked yet. It'd be truly astonishing if he really was immune, but again, he didn't know for sure. He couldn't tell Clementine either way. The girl had just found out the fates of her parents, and he couldn't imagine how she'd react if she found out that he was at risk of becoming like them too. If he started feeling funny, he'd tell her, because then he'd know. 

_You already know. There's no use avoiding the truth; you're dangerous. As soon as Omid and Christa show up you have to get as far away from her as poss-_

"Lee? Are you okay?" 

"Huh?" He pushed his morbid thoughts to the back of his mind and turned to face Clementine who was looking at him with concern. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine," he answered her quickly, "Let's go." 

He took her hand into his and they started walking again, passing the occasional wanderers along the way. They followed the tracks until they reached the train, where thankfully no walkers were hanging around, but Omid and Christa were nowhere to be seen. 

_Where are they?_ Lee thought to himself with worry,  _They should be here by now. Hope they made it out alright._

"Wait, why are we at the train? Where is everyone?" Clementine asked. 

"I told Omid and Christa to meet us here. It seems that they're not here yet." 

She nodded in understanding, but realised that they were forgetting someone. "But...what about Kenny?" 

Lee's eyes widened at the mention of his best friend, then he remembered the incident in that building Omid, Christa, Kenny and himself had crossed on their way to find Clementine. A solemn frown crossed his features as his eyes met the ground. 

Clementine was growing more uncertain the longer Lee took to answer her. "Lee, what is it? What happened to Kenny? Tell me..."

After a few moments of silence, Lee finally looked her in the eyes and sadly shook his head. He didn't need to tell her with words, she knew what that look meant, but she refused to believe it. 

"...No..." she uttered quietly, "...No, he...he..."

"Kenny's gone, Clem," he finally told her, "We couldn't...I couldn't...save him."

It truly pained him to tell her of their friend's fate, mainly because said friend had been the one to pay the price for making the dumb mistake of knocking the radio out of his hand into the ruins of the building, and was lost to the walkers inside of it. Lee felt his heart break when Kenny told them to go without him. He was really going to miss him. 

Tears began to well up in the girl's eyes again, though this time she made no effort to hide it. "...No...no! I can't lose anyone else...not Kenny!" 

Lee knelt down to console her again, her arms wrapping around his neck once more, "I'm sorry, sweetie. I'm gonna miss him too." 

"This is all my fault! I never should've left you guys! I did this to him, to you, to everyone!" 

_No._ Lee was having none of that. It was true that the group had separated while on the search for her, but there was no way he was going to let her blame herself for something she couldn't control. 

He pulled away from the embrace, holding her firmly by the shoulders. "Clementine, listen to me," he told her sternly, "None of this is your fault. Bad things can happen to anyone. Just because something happened on our way to save you, doesn't make it your fault." 

But Clementine wouldn't hear it. "Yes, it does! I didn't even know the man on my walkie and I still went outside to see him! He told me he had my parents, and I believed him. I wanted to see them so bad, and I was mad at you because you said we couldn't. Now Kenny is gone, and it's  _all because of me!"_ She was screaming by the end of it, angry with herself for believing someone she didn't even know. More tears fell from her eyes as she buried her face into Lee's shoulder again. He hated seeing her like this, but he didn't stop her from letting it all out. 

"Oh, Clem," he tried to console her again, "It wasn't your fault, okay? It was his. He manipulated you so that he could take you. He believed he could make up for his mistakes by taking you with him."  _And to get back at us for what we did to him,_ he thought guiltily, but didn't say it. 

"That doesn't make it any better! Kenny's gone!" 

"I'm sorry, Clementine. I'm sorry." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If some of what's written in this chapter looks familiar, I recently came across a Walking Dead and Left4Dead crossover story on Fanfiction.net and took some inspiration from what they wrote. Here's the link if you're interested: 
> 
> https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12976101/1/Special-Infected


	3. For Shits and Giggles

“Lee! …Lee!”

At the familiar voice, Lee’s eyes snapped open and looked around, trying to find where it was coming from. He released his hold on Clementine to stand up straight and turned to look behind him. His eyes widened in shock when they landed on the friend he thought he’d lost.

“Kenny?” he uttered in disbelief, unsure if what he was seeing was real.

“Kenny!” Clementine cried out with joy as she took off running towards him.

Kenny smiled warmly as he crouched down to the girl’s level, catching her when she threw herself at him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

“Hey, Clem!” he chuckled, “Glad to see you’re alright.”

Clementine sniffled, “Me too. I-I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have…”

He nuzzled her, “Hey, it’s okay.” He pulled back to look at her as she wiped tears from her face with her sleeve. “Hey, why are you cryin'? And-wait…” his eyes then narrowed in concern when he looked at her clothes. “Why are you covered in blood?”

She looked down at her bloodstained hoodie and her eyes widened when she realised what he was talking about. “W-we used it to get out and…Lee told me you were gone…”

He smiled at her as he wiped a few tears from her face, “Aw, darlin’. It’s gonna take more than a bunch’a half-dead things to finish me off.” He then pointed at her bloodstained garments, “That was a smart idea, by the way. Never would’a thought of that.”

Lee cleared his throat and they both turned to him.

“Why don’t we continue this in the boxcar?” Lee suggested, pointing to the train behind him. “And Kenny, a word?”

“Sure.”

They walked towards the train and peeked around every corner of the vehicle to check for walkers before climbing inside.

“So,” Kenny began, “what did you wanna-?”

Lee hit him. Hard.

“THAT’S FOR THE RADIO!”

**SLAP!**

“THAT’S FOR RISKING YOUR LIFE!”

**SLAP!**

“THAT’S FOR MAKING US BELIEVE YOU DIED!”

**SLAP!**

“AND THAT…that was just for fun.”

Kenny stared at him speechless as he rubbed at the red marks on his face, and Lee huffed a few times before taking a deep breath.

“Okay, now that that’s out of the way…”

Before Kenny could come up with a proper response, Lee threw his arms around his shoulders and held him tightly for a few seconds before pulling back.

“I’m so glad you’re alive. I mean, for fuck’s sake, I thought you were dead! How did you get out?”

Kenny rubbed the back of his neck. “Uh…well, um…yeah, it’s uh…it’s quite the story, actually…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“And that’s how I got out! How’s that for a story that makes no sense?”

Lee gave him a doubtful look and crossed his arms. “You expect me to believe that a twelve-year-old girl with telekinetic powers exploded the brains of all the walkers in that building, then some woman appeared in a blue police box which was bigger on the inside, travelled through the multiverse and found out that we were fictional characters from a video-game, you fainted and then woke up in the ruined building again, found a grappling hook and did a Tarzan swing across the city and then walked all the way up here?” he deadpanned.

“Well…”

“Because it’s a load of bullshit.”

“Swear,” Clementine noted.

“Sorry.”

Kenny held his hands up, “Hey, you can fit a blowtorch into your back pocket.”

Lee shrugged, “Well yeah, it’s only heavy when I carry it.”

“And that’s all the proof I need that nothin’ in this world makes sense.”

“Just tell me what actually happened,” Lee sighed, and Kenny shrugged.

“Okay, but it’s still a bullshit explanation. I hopped out of one of the windows and jumped from window to window until I reached the ground. Then I got to the sewer tunnels, it took probably four near-death tries to find the manhole closest to where the train was, and now I’m here.”

“You Nathan Drake’d out of the building?”

“Yep!” Kenny nodded.

“Still sounds like bullshit to me.”

Kenny rolled his eyes, “Alright, which story do you think has the least bullshit in it? ‘Cause I don’t have any more stories to tell.”

“They both have a share of bullshit, but if I had to choose which one was more credible, I’d say the second one because there are no pop culture references in it.”

Kenny stared at him for a few seconds before crossing his arms and pouting, “…I still like the first story.”

“It was pretty creative, I’ll give you that,” Lee praised.

“Speakin’ of bullshit,” Kenny said, pointing at Lee’s wrist, “how the fuck are you still standin’ in your condition? Like, how do you feel right now, really?”

At that, Clementine suddenly became very concerned. “Condition? What?” she uttered quietly.

Lee brought his hand up, looking at the bite on his wrist. “Pretty good, actually; it’s like I wasn’t bitten at all. I mean, someone could shoot me right now and I’d still be fit as a fiddle-“

Clementine felt her heart stop. “B-Bitten?! W-what?! When?!”

Lee’s eyes widened with guilt as he realised what he said. He turned to her, “Clem, I…”

Before he could continue, an exploding pain ripped through his right shoulder, and looked down to see blood pouring into his shirt. He brought his hand to the wound and pulled out a bullet. His vision started to blur as the lead slipped through his fingers.

“Huh. That’s new…” The last thing he saw were Kenny and Clementine’s looks of shock before everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the previous chapter, Kenny was believed to be dead, well guess what? He's back! Now, let the fluff and stupid jokes commence, only for it to end in drama! This is quite the turn of events, isn't it? (Well, that's to be expected when the 'Emotional Roller Coaster' tag has been slapped onto this story).


	4. Broken and Left Behind

Kenny stood there with wide eyes as his best friend hit the ground. When a person experiences shock, the first thing they do is panic, and that’s exactly what Clementine and Kenny both did.

“HOLY SHIT!” Kenny shrieked, clutching the cap on his head as he tried to calm his rapid breathing.

“LEEE!” the little girl beside him ran towards her guardian’s fallen form to try and lift him up.

Kenny ran over to help her when something caught his eye. He looked up to see two silhouettes running off in the distance, and he stood up to get a closer look. As he did, several other figures began slowly moving up the road towards the train.

_Walkers._

“Fuck!” Of all times for things to go wrong, why now? He turned to Clementine who was hoisting Lee up by the arms, “Clem, see if you can take him into the engine car!”

Clementine gave him a worried glance, “B-but what about you?!”

Kenny opened the door leading to their destination, “I’ll hold ‘em off! Just get him in there!”

The girl grunted as she lifted her unconscious guardian up and began moving, “I-I’ll try!”

“Go!” He ushered her through the door.

Kenny pulled out his gun and aimed it at the nearest walker, then he remembered he had no more bullets. _Fuck._ He put the gun back into his pocket, hopped out of the boxcar and looked around in hopes of spotting a weapon. He spotted a fallen tree branch and picked it up.

He walked forward and slammed the branch into the nearest walker’s head, the wood splintering and its victim dropping dead on impact. Another one came up behind him and he turned, bracing the branch in front of him like a shield. It sank its teeth into the wood, reaching forwards in an attempt to grab its prey. Kenny groaned as he felt a sharp splinter of wood slide under one of his fingernails, but he couldn’t focus on that right now. He struggled to push the thing away, but he eventually knocked it off its feet and impaled the sharp end of the branch into its skull.

Just then, he heard a scream and turned around to see Clementine behind the handrail of the locomotive with Lee still in her arms, trying to kick the hand of a walker that grabbed her through the bars off of her leg.

Kenny tried to pull the branch out of the one he just killed, but it wouldn’t budge. He gave up and dashed towards the girl he had to protect. He had no weapon on him, but he had to act quickly or else the last of his family he had left would die.

He kicked the back of its knee, grabbed it by the shoulders and threw it to the ground, crushing its skull with his boot. The train was becoming overrun. They had to leave.

“Shit,” Kenny muttered, running over to the ladder around the back and climbing up. “We’ve gotta go!”

“What about Omid and Christa?!”

“There’s no time! Come on!”

He ran past her and opened the door, ushering her inside before any more monsters could grab her. There was a clattering noise as they entered the car. Kenny looked down to see Lee’s meat cleaver had fallen out of his pocket. He picked it up and turned the lever to start the train. There were loud groans outside and Kenny peeked out the window to see a few stragglers had grabbed onto the handrails.

“Ugh, give me a fuckin’ break,” he growled in frustration, clenching the cleaver in his hand. Kenny grabbed the door handle before turning to Clementine, “Stay with him.”

She gave him a nod before he ran outside to finish their attackers off. Several of them clung to the rail, their jaws snapping as they were dragged along the gravel by the moving vehicle. It was surprising that despite being deteriorating corpses, they still had working muscles to cling to something as heavy as a train. Then again, how were these things able to move, breathe and kill in the first place?

_Persistent little shits,_ Kenny thought bitterly, raising the cleaver and bringing it down on the rotting appendages clinging to the bars. They fell to the gravel and tried in vain to crawl toward the speeding train as it faded into the distance.

Kenny stood there for a few minutes before he walked around to the other side of the train to check if any more had clung to the bars or crawled into the boxcar; it was going to be a pain in the ass if there were. He sighed in relief; the whole area was clear. Finally, something went right.

He held that thought until he heard crying from the engine car, and he turned pale.

_Lee…_

He ran to the front of the train and opened the door, dread immediately flooding into him.

Clementine was on her knees and sobbing into her delicate hands beside Lee, who was out cold and completely still, black blood staining his denim blue shirt. Kenny noticed his chest wasn’t rising or falling. He knelt down and lifted Lee’s wrist to check his pulse. He moved his fingers around Lee’s palm, trying desperately to find a sign of life, anything at all.

There was nothing.

_Fuckin’ hell, just…fuck._ And here he thought he didn’t have anything more to lose. He knew Lee was bit, and that was it, yet he still wanted to believe that maybe, just maybe he wouldn’t succumb to this death sentence like his son had. What a childish fantasy that was.

Kenny turned to the child next to him, who was reduced to a blubbering mess. God, this was going to break her.

“Clementine…” he tried to console her, “Clem, sweetie…I-I’m…”

Clementine’s hands were removed from her face, revealing her big, tear-filled golden eyes, “H-he was bitten! Why didn’t he tell me?!”

Kenny frowned empathetically, reaching his hand out, “C-come here, darlin’. I-I’ll do it…so you don’t have to…”

He knew he didn’t need to elaborate any further; no matter how badly he might want to think her innocent, Clementine was also smart, and she knew exactly what was going on. The girl threw her arms out, gesturing towards Lee, “B-but I did this to him! I sh-should…”

Kenny felt the weight of the world on his shoulders. He knew it didn’t belong on hers. “You shouldn’t ever have to do something like this…not yet, anyway…”

That’s when she gave in, throwing herself at him and clutching his shirt as she sobbed into his shoulder.

He stroked her back to comfort her as he pulled the cleaver from his back pocket.

Kenny closed his eyes a moment. He knew he at least owed it to his friend to look, to be aware of the life he was about to take -- but looking made it worse, because Lee looked _sick._ Sick and pallid, a shadow of what he’d been before. It wasn’t right to remember him like this, was it? Not Lee. Not the steadfast, level-headed, loyal friend that Kenny had never really appreciated until now, when all that was about to be lost.

Kenny didn’t know grief yet; he was still grappling with it, still learning what it meant, but even now, with Katjaa and Duck still waiting like ghosts to be let go – even now, there was no grace period. He was going to lose again. He was going to go through it all again, every stage as painful as last time.

Regret for the way he’d acted, the things he’d said and hadn’t said, came on suddenly like a wave – and who was he to try and console this little girl when he could barely keep it together himself?

“I-I’m sorry, pal. I sh-should’ve, fuck…” He stopped to swallow back the lump that was forming in his throat before starting again, “I could’ve treated you better. You were a helluva guy, and I paid you back by bein’ an asshole.” He clenched his stinging eyes shut as he lifted the knife above Lee’s head, “Hope this is enough to make up for it…”

God, he didn’t think it would affect him all that much, but it was. It _was_. This person had stuck by him through all the bullshit, helped him when his son was bitten, saved his ass plenty of times when they encountered bandits and walkers.

“Kenny…”

What was he to do now? Clementine was now the only family he had left. There wouldn’t be any more of Katjaa’s lovely voice, Duck’s contagious laughter, Lee’s helpful advice and support. Fuck, he was really going to miss him, like all the rest.

“Kenny.”

_C’mon,_ he thought, _Just put an end to it… Get it over with…_

“Kenny!”

_Do it! Quit stallin’ and just do it!_

**“Kenny!”**

Kenny’s eyes snapped open at the sound of his name being called, and at the unexpected sight before him, he dropped both his jaw and his weapon to the floor. It clattered on the metal as his tear-brimmed eyes met Lee’s concerned ones.


	5. Something Else?

To say Lee was confused would be a huge understatement. There was an excruciating pain in his right shoulder, Clementine was crying, and Kenny had been holding his meat cleaver above his head a few seconds ago before dropping it.

All he could ask was “What’s going on?”

As soon as the last word left his mouth, the little girl threw herself at him with enough force to knock him onto his back, her tears already staining his shirt.

“W-whoa, Clem!" Lee exclaimed, placing a hand on her back. "What the hell happened?”

Clementine clung to him for a few seconds before she pulled away to look at him. “Y-you were _dead_ , Lee!” she choked out through her sobs.

“…Wh…what?" Dead? They thought he was dead? Was that why Kenny was holding the cleaver above his head? Wait...that's right, he was bitten. But how was he still alive? He turned to Kenny, who was wiping his eyes with his sleeve. Was he crying? "Kenny? What happened just now?”

Kenny quickly pulled his sleeve from his eyes and blinked a few times. He probably thought he was hallucinating. “Sh-she’s right, you…you had no pulse…how the fuck are you…?”

No pulse? Now that raised questions. How could he have no life signs and still be able to think, talk and feel pain? Walkers couldn't do any of those things, so why was he able to? He brought a hand up to his chest where his heart was and pressed down. There was no thumping under his palm. "…But, how…?”

“Never mind that!" Kenny's shout brought him out of his shock, "You’re fuckin’ bleeding!" He placed a hand on Lee's injured shoulder to keep pressure on it. "Do we have anything to clean this with?!”

“I-I have some peroxide and gauze if that helps…” Clementine uttered nervously, pulling out the required items from her hoodie pocket.

“Better than nothin’!”

She handed the supplies to Kenny as Lee started unbuttoning his shirt to examine the wound. Kenny grunted in pain. Something in his hand burned as he poured the solvent into the gauze. Probably a cut of some kind. He paid it no mind and turned to face Lee only to stop when his eyes landed on his shoulder.

“What’s wrong?”

“There’s nothin’ there…”

Lee stared at him with confusion before turning his gaze to his shoulder, his eyes instantly widening in shock. The wound had almost completely closed up on its own, though there was still some blood staining part of his chest, and it was still painful to move his arm.

There was a stunned silence before Clementine broke it.

“…My head hurts…” she whispered softly with confusion, holding her head for emphasis.

Kenny blinked a couple of times before he said “…Okay, I knew nothin’ in this world made sense, but… this is a whole new level of bullshit.”

“You can say that again," Lee told him before taking the supplies to clean his wound anyway. He winced as the burning liquid in the gauze made contact.

“So…" Clementine began, tone filled with uncertainty, "Are you alive or are you a walker or are you something else? I’m so confused…”

“You and me both, kid,” Kenny chuckled humourlessly.

Lee thought about those questions as he wrapped a bandage around his shoulder. What was he? He obviously wasn't human anymore, even though he had the capacity to think and talk like one.

But he couldn't be a walker either. If he was, wouldn't he have an appetite for flesh and blood? He shuddered at the thought, he couldn't picture himself attacking the two people he cared for most. That'd be a nightmare he'd never be able to wake up from.

Now, the third explanation, on the other hand...it was highly likely that he fit into the category of something else. It was as if he'd found some line in-between alive and dead. Half and half, maybe? The rules of this epidemic were confusing to point where it got annoying.

He did up the last of the buttons of his shirt. The garment was now thoroughly soaked in blood -- tar black rotten blood, from both walkers and himself. He looked down at the bite on his wrist; the tooth marks were oozing with the same dark substance, and dead skin cells were flaking around it. Half-human or not, there was still a chance of him turning into a monster, and he didn't want to take that chance, not until he knew for certain that he wasn't going to attack them in their sleep.

He snapped out of his thoughts when he saw a tree pass by outside the window of the train. Was someone driving this thing? Another tree moved by a second after the first. They were moving at really fast speed.

He stood up and turned to face Kenny. "Look, I don’t know, but you should probably keep an eye on where this train's headed. We don’t wanna crash into a fallen tree in the tracks.”

Kenny turned to face the front of the train and blinked when he realised how fast the train was going. “Shit, you’re right!” He grabbed the lever and turned it towards him to slow the vehicle down.

Lee had the strange feeling that they were forgetting something, then he remembered, “…I’m guessing Omid and Christa didn’t make it up here…”

Kenny frowned with guilt as he sighed and shook his head.

Clementine mirrored his expression, “Walkers were coming, we couldn’t wait.”

Lee nodded solemnly, “Right…” Omid and Christa were good people. He hoped they made it out alive.

Kenny grabbed the train map from the panel and looked it over. “There’s a town up ahead. Don’t know how long it’ll take for us to get there though.”

“Should we stop for the night?” Lee suggested.

“S’long as nothin’ creeps up on us in our sleep, I’m down with it.”

He turned to Clementine, “What do you wanna do, Clem?”

“I got kidnapped and my parents are walkers and y-you and Kenny almost died too in one day and I-" she paused and took a deep breath, "Can we just rest? Please?”

Lee nodded in understanding. She was exhausted from the events of today. “Right. Of course. Sorry, sweet pea."

The train stopped in the middle of an open prairie when Kenny hit the brakes. Flowers and grass surrounded the area, and apart from the sound of crickets chirping, it was quiet. So quiet that a walker could show up and no one would notice.

Lee walked towards the door, "I’ll sleep in the boxcar, you two rest in here.”

“You sure?” Kenny asked as Lee put his hand on the door handle.

“I’m still bitten. If there’s a chance I might still turn, I’d rather be safe than sorry.”

Kenny nodded, “Right, ‘course…G’night.”

“Good night." Lee opened the door and immediately shivered as he walked into the chill of the night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kenny sighed. Maybe there was no hope of Lee surviving this after all. Just because he'd escaped death today, that didn't mean he was likely to be fine the next morning.

Maybe they just had to wait and see.

Kenny bunched his hands up and hissed when he felt a stinging pain in his hands again. It was worst under his right ring finger. He opened them up to see a mass of cuts and splinters in his palms; the branch he'd used to kill the walkers left some nasty marks. He tried to pick them out with his nails, but they were too small to remove. He growled in frustration.

“Are you okay?” Clementine asked him.

Kenny half smiled at her, “M’fine, darlin’. Just splinters.”

“Here.” She grabbed his hand and reached into her hoodie pocket, pulling out a pair of tweezers. She began picking at the splinters with them.

“Where’d you get all that stuff anyway?” He asked her curiously.

“That man locked me in the bathroom after I stole his radio to talk to you guys. I…may or may not have grabbed a few things while I was in there.”

Kenny smirked, “You little devil.” He grunted in pain when the tweezers pinched at one of his cuts.

Clementine pulled the tweezers away, “S-sorry.”

He chuckled, “Don’t be. You’re gonna have to learn to do a lot more of this stuff in the future.”

She cringed slightly at the thought, “Does…that include stitching?”

“Can’t lie to ya, Clem. You never know when you might end up in a situation where you’re by yourself one day. When that day comes, you’ve gotta be prepared for anything.”

Her face brightened with hopeful eyes, “Will you teach me?”

He nodded, “Sure, I’ll teach ya what I know. You just gotta have the right materials for it."

“I have a needle and thread just in case.”

“Perfect.”

Clementine finally got the last of the splinters out of Kenny's palms.

_And now the shit part._

Kenny turned his right hand over and they both immediately cringed at the sight. His ring finger had a single dark splinter under his fingernail in the middle and was starting to turn purple.

He looked at her, “You know what you’ve gotta do.”

“Oh, gross," she groaned squeamishly, placing the tweezers on the panel and taking a needle from her pocket. This was going to be painful.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lee shut the doors in the boxcar to make sure nothing could sneak in. Whether it was a walker or a living person didn't matter -- as he'd discovered on more than one occasion, even not-dead people could be dangerous.

He was having a hard time sleeping on the floor. There was a mattress beside him (Chuck most likely used it for a bed), but he wouldn't sleep on that worn, bloodstained thing if it saved his life. Though, it didn't really matter either way if he became a walker the next morning; those things didn't need sleep anyway.

Suddenly he heard loud grunts of pain from the engine car. Was that Kenny? He got up from the floor and opened the door leading to the front of the train.

“Hold still!” He heard Clementine shout. What were they doing?

Another grunt from Kenny, “Oh yeah, that's so easy for you to- fuck, FUCK, FUCK!”

Jesus Christ, whatever was happening must've been painful for Kenny to be screaming like that. Another loud groan sounded out from the front. What if there was a walker on the train that no one knew about? Another shout and that was it, Lee ran up to the front on the driver's side and burst through the door, “What the hell is going on?!”

He paused when he saw Clementine wrapping bandages around Kenny's hands. Kenny was groaning in pain, “Everything’s fine.”

Clementine shivered in disgust, “I don’t want to relive that.”

“That makes two of us."

Lee looked to the left to see a pair of tweezers, pieces of gauze, the bottle of peroxide and a few small pieces of wood scattered all over the control panel. He slapped a hand over his mouth as he snickered. That's what all the fuss was about?

Kenny glared at him, “What’s so funny?”

"Nothing, it's just..." Lee wheezed for a few more seconds before answering, “Never took you for someone who would make such a big song and dance over a splinter.”

“Oh, it’s simple, huh?" Kenny laughed sarcastically, "You try havin’ a fuckin’ splinter under your fingernail! Maybe I’ll be the one to take it out for ya!”

Lee stopped laughing, “You got that under your-?" He stopped himself before he could finish. "–You know what, never mind.”

Clementine packed the supplies away into her pocket, and let out a yawn. She should've been asleep ages ago.

“I agree, Clem," Kenny agreed with a tired smile.

Lee chuckled, “Don’t we all?”

They watched the little girl walk over to the chair on the left side and leaned her head against the window as she closed her eyes. She was too adorable.

Lee turned to Kenny, “I’m gonna head back to my post. Holler if you need me.”

He walked over to the door and was about to open it when his friend stopped him, “Wait.”

“Yeah?”

Kenny reached into his pocket, searching for something, "You, uh…" he pulled out his meat cleaver, "You want this back? I might’ve borrowed it when we were gettin’ out of…you know.”

Lee looked at the knife, then surveyed his own pocket. Aside from his video camera, shard of glass and the empty gun he picked up at The Marsh House, there was nothing else inside. That cleaver was his, alright. “So that’s where it went..." He thought about it for a moment, then told him, "Nah, you keep it. In case something goes wrong, you’ll need something to defend yourself with.”

Kenny nodded and put the weapon back into his pocket, then looked at his friend with concern, “But what about you?”

Lee's expression instantly turned serious, “I don’t need to tell you twice; if I’m a walker by morning, kill me. Got it?”

Kenny's eyes went wide with shock. Then he turned them to the ground with a sad nod. “…I know…”

Lee heard whimpering behind him and his expression softened as he turned to face the already broken little girl who was hiding her face with her hand.

“Clem…”

She jumped out of her seat and ran to him, clinging to him tightly like he would disappear if she let him go.

“Please, don’t go…" she whimpered pitifully, "Don’t be like my parents… I don’t wanna be alone…”

Lee was conflicted. How many times had she cried today because of him -- no, because of him and Kenny. They'd both almost died in one day, and currently he was on the verge of becoming a monster, just like her parents had. Katjaa was right, he didn't know what sort of emotional damage she could be going through every second her family was gone, and considering how much death she's seen, God, he couldn't imagine what she must be thinking right now.

He knelt down to her level and cupped her cheek, wiping her tears away with his thumb, “Hey, you won’t be alone, sweet pea. You’ve still got Kenny.”

Clementine clutched his hand with her own, “…You won’t be here though…”

He smiled sadly as his forehead touched hers, “There’s nowhere you’ll go that I won’t be with you." He opened his eyes to look at her, "Stay strong for me, okay?”

Her lips trembled and she sniffled before uttering, “...Okay…”

“Good.” He stood up and nodded at Kenny who returned it. He walked towards the door, looking at them both one last time before returning to the boxcar.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Clementine sniffled as she wiped away her tears with her sleeve for the umpteenth time that day. Couldn't she catch a break?

"Hey," Kenny called out to her, "Thanks for the help, Clem. Don’t think I would’a done it without ya.”

She stared at him before giving him a weak smile, “…You’re welcome…”

Kenny frowned sympathetically as he reached a hand out toward her, “Come here, darlin’.”

She walked over to him and took his hand as he pulled her into his lap. He wrapped his arms around her in a warm embrace and rocked her from side to side as he began to sing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lee smiled as he listened to the recording he made of Kenny singing to Clementine from his video camera. It was a rare thing nowadays to see Kenny like this; warm and gentle as he held the child close, telling her that everything was alright. If he wasn't in his current predicament, he would do the same thing for her too.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whatever the song Kenny is singing to Clementine is, I'll leave that to your imaginations.


	6. The Next Morning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait! I have exams to study for in a couple of weeks, so I haven't had a lot of time to focus on this. Hope you enjoy what I've written for this story so far!

The sound of birds chirping and the bright rays of the morning sun brought Kenny from his long needed sleep. He hadn't slept that soundly since he left Savannah. _Good fucking riddance to that place._ He blinked a few times and spread his arms out as he yawned and stretched, a few joints cracking as he did so, then slumped back into his chair.

His eyes suddenly went wide, and he turned to his left; the chair by the window was empty. "Clementine?" he called out. She wasn't in the engine car with him. _Oh, God…_

He spun around in his chair toward the door and swung it open, running outside, his internal voice chewing him out the whole way.

_You had ONE JOB, Kenny! ONE FUCKING JOB, AND YOU FUCKED IT!_

He speed-walked toward the boxcar...only to find Clementine, her hand on the door handle. She hadn't opened it. Thank God.

“Clementine, wait," he called out to her, placing a hand on her shoulder to stop her. "What the Hell do ya think you’re doin’?”

She turned around, taking her hand of the handle and rubbed her arm with guilt, “I-I was just going to see if he was okay!" She reached into her pocket and pulled out the cleaver they now had ownership of. "Sorry I took it. Just in case..."

Kenny stared at the knife before sighing. At least she remembered to take a weapon before going out alone. Though, it was the only weapon they had. He held his hand out, “I know. Just don’t go off without tellin’ me first, okay?”

She handed the knife back to him, still looking guilty, “Okay…”

He put his hand on her shoulder again and gave her a reassuring smile before facing the door. Taking a deep breath, he pulled the door open and entered the car with caution, not before telling Clementine to keep the door opened to let in some light.

It was really dark inside. Why did the doors have to be closed? Sure, it stopped trespassers from getting in, but there was so little light in here, it was hard to tell if Lee was even in here at all.

Kenny slowly approached his friend, cleaver in one hand behind his back. He was having a hard time keeping his breathing steady, and his whole body was shaking violently. He was terrified. Truly terrified. What if Lee had fully succumbed to the infection and died in his sleep? How was he going to put him down when he came back as a walker? How was he going to help Clementine through it? He reached his quivering free hand out towards Lee, who lay flat on his back on the floor completely still, not moving or breathing in the slightest. If the world wasn't plagued with a virus that made corpses walk, he would've definitely been confirmed dead.

  
Just as Kenny leaned in a little to get a closer look at his face, Lee's eyes instantly flew open, causing Kenny to yelp and fall on his ass. He crawled backwards towards the door, holding out the cleaver in his hand in defence. Lee jolted upwards into a sitting position.

"Ugh! What the hell?!" he yelled, looking frantically around the room. He stopped when he saw his friend by the door, Clementine standing behind him, "Kenny, Clem, what's happening?!"

Kenny looked like he was on the verge of cardiac arrest as he held out his weapon in one shaking hand and holding his other one to his chest as he tried to calm his rapid breathing. He dropped his weapon to the floor. "Jesus fuckin' Christ, Lee! Ya tryin' to give me a fuckin' heart attack!?"

Lee glared at him, arms crossed and finger pointing at him accusingly, "Oh, you're one to talk! You woke me up!"

Kenny held his hands up, "Hey, I'm not the one who got bit here!"

Lee scoffed and rolled his eyes, "Tch! Well, pardon me for existing..." He paused for a moment when his eyes landed on Clementine who was watching quietly from behind Kenny. "Hey, Clem. You haven't called us out for swearing yet."

The little girl sighed as she watched her other guardian stand up and walk over to the doors of the boxcar to let some light in. "Kenny's going to swear no matter many times I tell him. I've given up."

Kenny opened the door to the right and gave Lee a smug look. _Guess I'm the favourite now._

Lee feigned a look of hurt. "Oh, so _he_ gets to swear too," he said dramatically as he pressed a hand to his own chest like he’d been shot in the heart, "I'm just _so_ glad to see how much you guys appreciate me."

Clementine raised an eyebrow in confusion, "Um..." She didn't quite get it at first.

Lee raised a hand and shook his head. "No, no. It's okay, I see how it is." He stood up, walking towards the door. "You love Kenny so much, I might as well leave."

It took a few more seconds before the girl realised that he was just kidding around. She decided to play along. "Nooo," she giggled, "Don't goooo."

Lee couldn't help chuckling as well, "It's fine. You two are best friends. You can spend _all_ your _quality time_ without me."

Her giggling continued as she got up and ran to him, wrapping her arms around his waist. Lee picked her up and swung her around as he joined in with her contagious laughter.

Kenny smiled warmly at the two laughing together before him. There was quite a change in the child's demeanour from the day before; she was an emotional wreck a while ago, but now...here she was, smiling and laughing like none of the events from yesterday had ever happened. She must've been truly happy that Lee was still alive, and he guessed he was too.

That was when Clementine offered her hand toward him.

"Come on, Kenny!" she called out enthusiastically.

Kenny stared at her hand in surprise, but then dismissed it with the shake of his head, "Oh, nah, I'm good."

Lee smirked, "That wasn't a question. _Get in here!_ " He took Kenny by the sleeve and pulled him into their embrace.

" _Whoa_ , hey!" Kenny shouted in protest, but eventually succumbed to his own laughter as he wrapped his arms around them both.

As he did, old, faded memories came into his mind; memories from before the world crumbled around him.

Every day he'd go out fishing, and by sunset, he'd be back home with fresh tuna from the sea, ready for Katjaa to put on the grill and serve up. As they ate, Duck would chatter about his day at school. It was the same every day, but Kenny didn't mind that. Though, he'd always felt that he should've been around more often. He'd leave for sailing the next morning, and every time he'd head out into the ocean, he'd feel that familiar sense of freedom...but he also found himself compelled to go back to his loved ones. Every time he left in the morning and came back, he'd pull them both into an embrace, to make sure they both knew how much he loved them.

Kenny stopped laughing, feeling his eyes moistening as those memories replayed over and over in his head. They were gone now, but this time for real. He'd never be able to go back home where his family always waited for him to return. He'd never see Katjaa's beautiful smile again. Never hear Duck's non-stop chattering again. God, he'd give anything to have those things again, if only for just one minute.

"Kenny, are you okay?" Clementine's voice broke him from his thoughts. He looked down at her, then up at Lee, both their faces filled with concern.

Kenny wiped at his eyes, "I-I'm fine, Clem," he told her, trying to regain his composure, "It's okay."

"You sure?" Lee asked him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Kenny swallowed the lump forming in his throat, "Yeah, I'm good," he said hurriedly, trying to think of a way to change the subject. He turned his attention to the door. "Hey, why don't we get this train movin'? We got a long way to go if we're gonna reach that town up ahead."

Lee followed his gaze to the open door, looking outside at the golden field they stopped in, "You're right. We should go soon." A deep, growling noise sounded off as he said that. He looked down at his stomach. "Shit, I've forgotten how long we've gone without food."

"I'm pretty hungry, too," Clementine piped in.

Kenny nodded, "Okay, we'll go in just a bit." He looked out at the prairie, then hung his head low, "I just...gotta do somethin' first." He pulled away from the two and quickly walked towards the door, hopping outside and moving through the grass before they could see the tears welling in his eyes again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lee watched with confusion and uncertainty as his friend walked out into the golden grass. What just happened? Kenny was just laughing a few minutes ago, but then all of sudden he looked like he was going to burst into tears, and Lee had the feeling he knew why that was the case.

_He’s thinking about them again…_

He turned to the girl beside him, "Stay here, sweet pea," he told her, "I'm gonna go talk to Kenny, make sure he's okay."

Clementine nodded slowly, "Okay..." then her eyes darted around anxiously, "but what if something or someone gets in?"

Lee knelt down and picked up the meat cleaver. "That's why you've got this." He held it out to her. "Remember to stay quiet, stay hidden, and to keep your eyes and ears open at all times. If anything gets in, you know what to do."

The girl listened attentively and nodded again. She eyed the cleaver with uncertainty before taking it by the handle. It seemed she still wasn't used to using weapons just yet, but Lee figured she had to learn if she was going to stay alive in a world like this. She walked to the corner of the car to stay hidden like he told her to.

Lee smiled, "Be back in a bit."

He hopped out of the boxcar and made his way through the grass. There were all kinds of colourful flowers in the field, like purple blazing stars and blue sage, but most of them were pure white daisies.

Lee stopped in front of Kenny, who was kneeling in the grass where a few daisies were blooming. A bunch of flowers, which Lee assumed Kenny picked, laid beside him. Kenny brought his hand up to one of the unpicked flowers, caressing the small white petals so gently as if it were made of glass. He was blinking rapidly, trying hard not to let any tears fall, Lee could swear he saw his lips trembling.

"Kenny? Are you-?"

"She loved these," Kenny whispered softly, "She'd always have 'em in a vase somewhere in our house or garden." He lifted the flower closer, inhaling its sweet scent. "They even smell like her..." His voice cracked at the end and he brought his other hand to his eyes, wiping away his tears.

Lee looked at his friend sympathetically, kneeling down beside him and placing a hand on his shoulder. "Ken, I understa-" he stopped when Kenny slapped his hand away.

"No, you _don't_ understand," he seethed bitterly, head turned away, refusing to look Lee in the eyes.  
  
Lee pulled his hand away, sighing in frustration, "Well, can I at least _try_ to?"

  
Kenny finally turned around, "How?"

Lee answered with the one thing he knew best, with slight hesitation, "Well...talk about it?"

"No," Kenny stated firmly.

Lee sighed, rolling his eyes. Tough nut to crack, as always. "Okay, fine. I guess staying stubborn works for you.”

Kenny crossed his arms, "Yes it does, and it's _stayin'_ that way."

Lee shrugged. "Have it your way."

With that, Lee stood up, turned in the direction of the train and started walking back...but he only made it two steps forward before tripping and falling into a ditch full of mud. _How graceful._  
  
"Holy _shit!_ " Kenny shrieked with laughter, "That was _perfect!_ "

Lee sat up and wiped the mud off his face, glaring at him. "Very funny."

Kenny only laughed harder, holding his stomach and trying to catch his breath. "Okay...okay..." he uttered in between laughs, wheezing as he did so. After a few more seconds, he recovered and held his hand out toward Lee to help him up. Lee took it, and Kenny didn't notice the smirk on his face until he was pulled into the dirty puddle below, screaming a loud "FUCK!" as he splashed into the mud, not noticing that his cap had fallen off. He sat up and glared at Lee, who was grinning mischievously.

"Not so funny now, is it?" Lee asked in a mocking tone. _Bastard_.

Kenny rolled his eyes, "Shut up."

Hair had fallen into his eyes now that his cap had fallen off. He hardly ever noticed how long his hair had gotten until now because he rarely ever took his hat off. He huffed in frustration as he tried to blow his bangs out of his face and flick them to the side, but they kept falling back.

Lee chuckled in amusement at Kenny's behaviour. Honestly, he was such a child at times. First, the splinters, and now his hair. It was a silly thing to get antsy about, though he had to admit, he found it amusing and rather adorable how his friend fussed over the littlest of things; the way he pouted with his arms crossed. It was kind of like how Clementine acted when he told her about something she didn’t like, such as having her hair cut. Kenny could have just done that, or just pushed his bangs behind his ears, then he wouldn't have to worry about something like this in the first place.

Lee was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't realise his subconscious was acting upon what was on his mind until he saw his friend staring back at him with wide brown eyes. Lee’s own eyes flicked slightly to the right to find his own hand brushing his friend’s bangs out of his face and behind his left ear.

… _Wait_ … _Did I just…?_

... _oh, shit_.  
  
Lee gasped sharply and quickly retracted his hand like he got pricked by a thorn, looking away completely flustered. _What the hell did you just do?!_

"That...was awkward..." He muttered quietly, "I won't do that again."

_It's too late, man. You fucked up. You fucked up hard. This is Kenny. Kenny! He's never gonna let you live this down! Never in a million years!_

 

Kenny felt his face heating up, not sure how to respond. The ghost of Lee’s fingertips still lingered from the shell of his left ear, sending a wave of static through him. His eyes dropped to the ground, fidgeting a little, then words flew from his mouth before he could stop them. "...Um...I didn't think it was..."

Lee looked at him with both surprise and confusion, "Huh?"

Kenny was just as surprised at his own words, his face going a darker shade of red, "U-uh, I mean..." He quickly turned away, his bangs falling in his eyes again and arms folding across his chest. He decided to take a page out of Lee's book and brought his hand up to the hair in his eyes, pushing it away and tucking it behind his other ear. Huh, this is much easier, he thought, looking back at Lee with a nervous chuckle. Lee smiled in return.

After a few minutes of silence, Clementine's voice piped up from the train. "Are you guys okay?! What's taking so long?!”

They both blinked, realising they'd been staring at each other for a while. Lee turned in the direction of the train, "We're coming!" he called to her before turning to Kenny. "Come on," he told him as he hoisted himself out of the wet dirt, dusting off his pants.

Kenny nodded, picking up his hat and following suit, stretching his arms out and dropping them at his sides.

"You good?"

Kenny hesitated a bit before nodding, "...I-I think...yeah."

Lee gave a nod in return, "Alright, let's go," he declared, and started walking toward the train.

Kenny began to follow, then looked around at the white daisies that took up most of the prairie. He closed his eyes for a moment, taking in the fresh, clean scent of the flowers, and he thought of _her._

_You would’ve loved this place, Kat… he thought. A change of scenery, a moment of peace… we don’t get many of those now… not anymore…_

He bent down and gathered the bunch of flowers he’d collected earlier, putting them into his pocket before walking back to the train.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Clementine was bored. They were out on the rails again, out to find that town Kenny was taking them to. Normally she'd draw to entertain herself, but she didn't have her backpack with her. She sighed.

"What's wrong, Clem?" She heard Lee ask as he came down to sit next to her.

The girl held her head in her right hand as she sighed again, "I left my backpack at the safe house. It had all my drawings and other stuff in it."

"Oh, I'm sorry, sweet pea." He hummed as he tapped his chin in thought, "Maybe we can find something else to do that'll keep you busy."

Clementine looked at him with curious eyes, "Like what?"

Lee smiled, "Come with me." He stood up and walked toward the door leading to the engine car, Clementine following suit. He lead her through the doors until they made it to the very front of the train, the cool morning breeze hitting them as they leaned on the handrails.

"Why are we up here?" the girl asked.

"Close your eyes, honey," Lee told her, not taking his eyes off the horizon.

She raised an eyebrow, "Why?"

"It's okay," he said with a reassuring smile, "Just relax."

Clementine gave him a skeptical look, then did as he told her.

"Now, forget what you see. What do you feel?"

The girl relaxed as she focused intently, "The cool breeze. On my face and in my hair."

"How does it feel?"

"It feels nice, and calming. Like nothing bad is happening right now." She smiled at the thought.

"What do you hear?"

She concentrated on the sounds around her, aside from the obvious one. "The wind, the train moving, birds chirping, your voice."

"Open your eyes. What do you see in front of you?"

Clementine opened her eyes. "The rails, the trees passing, birds flying high, the sunrise, the pink and yellow clouds and the bright orange sky..." Then curiosity got the better of her again, and asked a second time, "What exactly is this meant to be? Is there a reason you brought me out here?"

He was silent for a while, probably trying to come up with an answer, then he spoke, "...The sunrise is one of the beautiful things this world still has. I wanted to see it with you."

She leaned against the handrail, sighing with content, "It's so pretty, I wish there were more of these."

Lee chuckled, "Me too, Clem. Sometimes we have these beautiful moments and they just vanish from us in a second. That's why we make the most of the time we have left to enjoy it." He finally turned to face her, placing a hand on her shoulder and spoke to her in a gentle, but firm tone, " _Never_ take _anything_ for granted, Clementine. Always appreciate what you have while you have the opportunity."

Clementine listened to her guardian's words, glancing at the hand on her shoulder for a moment before placing her own hand on top of his and nodding firmly in understanding. Lee smiled in approval.

They suddenly heard the screeching of the brakes on the train.

"Looks like we're here," Lee confirmed, taking his arms off the handrail and heading back to the door leading to the engine car and gesturing for Clementine to follow him. She walked inside, closing the door behind her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so at this point, I don't actually know when the next chapter is going to come out. Currently I'm in the process of editing the draft I wrote six months ago, as well as the direction in which this story is going to go. I can't make promises, but I'll try to get the next chapter out as soon as I find the time to continue this story.


	7. This version of this story probably won't continue

So, this is something I need to address regarding this fanfiction.

Alright. So first things first, I want to apologise for my absence. Getting through school has not been easy, so I took a five to six month long break to focus on passing my final year of school, and then when I finally came back to read it again, I found a lot of plot holes in the summarised version I wrote of this story, so at this point I'm not sure if I can work on the next chapter.

I'm not 100% certain about this, but I'm considering rewriting some chapters and changing some plot elements in order for this story to actually make sense and continue.

I don't want to get anyone's hopes up about me getting to doing this right away, since things don't always go the way they're planned, and in the case of this story, it hasn't. So, if I haven't updated in several months, it's highly likely that there has been a change of plans or I have writer's block.

Please let me know if you want me to continue this story, and don't be afraid to give me some feedback if you think I should improve or change a few things.


End file.
